Hiking the West Highland Way is what drew us to Scotland. In planning for this epic adventure, we knew we wanted to spend more time in the beautiful country of Scotland after completing the trail. We decided to dedicate two weeks to this trip: the first to hike 96 miles from Milngavie to Fort William, the second to sightsee.
The first leg of our sightseeing tour kept us in Fort William where the WHW ended. To celebrate completing the trail, the following day we climbed Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK. The next day we boarded a bus and made our way to our next stop: Inverness.
May 11, 2024
Scotland Day 10 (Honeymoon Part 2: Day 2)
1.) City Link Bus from Fort William to Inverness
After walking 96 miles we wanted to take the easy way to Inverness. We booked our one way bus tickets the night prior and were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was. It reminded me of Greyhound buses in the States. The bus ride was approximately two hours long and was a great way to see more of the countryside. We were dropped off at a bus terminal near the city center that offered wifi. This made it easy to search for our first order of business: finding a local laundry mat.
2.) Lunch and Laundry
Having hiked for a week straight, our clothes were in desperate need of a wash. We found a laundry mat and washed our clothes while chatting with another American couple also on vacation. Once our “town chores” were done, we walked next door to Encore for lunch. We enjoyed sandwiches and drinks before heading to check into our room for the night.
3.) Browsing the Shelves at Leakey’s Bookshop
After quick showers we set off to explore more of Inverness. Cade has found a bookstore online that he wanted to check out. We walked a couple blocks to Leakey’s Bookshop and were blown away by the amount of used books. There were books towering floor to ceiling occupying every inch of available space. A roaring fire burned merrily in a stove in the middle of the shop, and a spiral staircase lead to a second level overflowing with even more books. We perused the shelves for an hour or so finding classics and recent best sellers.
4.) Whisky Tasting at The Malt Room
In need or refreshments after browsing at the bookshop, we set out for a wee dram. Tucked in an alley we found a whisky bar called The Malt Room. One of the joys of being in Scotland has been the accessibility of high quality whisky. There are so many distilleries in Scotland, all with unique flavors and methods. Cade was excited to try a flight with whiskies from various distilleries and chatted with the bartender about ingredient choices.
5.) Dinner at The Victorian Market
Spirits restored, we headed to The Victorian Market in search of food. The market reminded me of a mall, but all the shops and venders were small local artisans. Unfortunately we arrived after many of the stores had closed for the day, but thankfully the food court was still open. There were so many choices, all of which looked and smelled good, but we settled on bowls Salt n Fire. We ate our fill and departed to make our way back towards our room for the night.
6.) Nightcap at Hootananny
Before retiring for the evening we decided to get drinks at the local watering hole. Hootananny, we discovered, is a bar and restaurant with a lively music scene. We were lucky to get a table and took turns approaching the bar for drinks. Music for the evening was Calum Macphail + Sean Cousins who were phenomenal. They played the accordion and fiddle and lead rousing renditions of sea shanties and traditional Scottish tunes. We clapped along and sang off key well into the early hours of the morning.
7.) Convenient Stay at Black Isle Brewery Bar Rooms
Thankfully we didn’t have far to walk from Hootananny to our room. The Black Isle Brewery was on the lower level of the building. The top floor has been converted to rooms for rent, accessed through a private stairwell and overlooking the brewery’s patio. Our room was sparse but had everything we needed from a comfy bed to a clean bathroom. The location was in the heart of the city and made walking easy. There was also reliable wifi which was a necessity for planning out the following day’s attractions.
May 12, 2024
Scotland Day 11 (Honeymoon Part 2: Day 3)
1.) Bus Tour with City Sightseeing
We started our second day in Inverness by hoping on a double decker bus to get a driving tour of the town. Our tickets were good for 24 hours and it was a “hop on hop off” style bus, meaning it stopped at multiple locations to let passengers on and off. We rode the bus for a full loop and decided where we wanted to get off on the second round around town. All of our stops throughout the rest of the day were places we saw on the bus tour.
2.) Uile-bheist Distillery
During our bus tour the driver pointed out Uile-bheist Distillery. We hopped off the bus here and went in for drinks. They brew their own beer and distill whisky as well. We got flights of beer and admired how each beer was named after some kind of Scottish folklore. We sat out on the patio enjoying drinks and the sunshine before decided to venture outside of town via the Ness Island Walk.
3.) A Stroll Down the Ness Island Walk
Inverness has an expansive paved greenway called the Ness Island Walk that follows the River Ness through town. We walked along side the river through the peaceful forest and made our way towards our destination for the day: the botanical gardens.
4.) Putt Putt at Inverness Crazy Golf
On our walk towards the botanical garners we passed a putt putt course and decided to play a round. This was an unexpected delight!
5.) Admiring Inverness Botanical Gardens
Our ultimate goal for the day was to get to the Inverness Botanical Gardens. These gardens were absolutely gorgeous and we spent several hours meandering through the varieties of green houses exploring the grounds. They even had a coffee shop so we sat and read for a bit while enjoying our coffee and the scenery.
6.) A Visit to the Inverness Cathedral
On our way back into town we decided to stop and visit the Inverness Cathedral. The church was huge and drew us in with its stunning stain glass. There was a small fee to tour the church, but when we mentioned we were in Scotland for our honeymoon the attendant waved us on through. The church dates back to the 1800s and had beautiful artwork to view along with interesting historical facts posted throughout the chapel. After seeing our fill at the church we walked back to our room for a quick nap before venturing back out to explore more of the city.
7.) Charcuterie and Wine at The Walrus and Corkscrew
We had passed a cute and trendy wine bar and decided to check it out. The Walrus and Corkscrew has an elaborate charcuterie spread that made for the perfect afternoon snack. Our waiter was eager to tell us what cheeses paired nicely with the wines and we spent the afternoon people watching on the patio while sipping wine.
8.) Drinks at Hootananny
We had dinner reservations for the evening and decided to get drinks back at Hootananny as an appetizer. The bar was even more packed than the previous night and there was standing room only. We stood in a corner and enjoyed the “jam session” taking place on stage. It didn’t seem like it was a formal band, but local musicians came with a variety of instruments to play. There were guitars, fiddles, hand drums, and even a didgeridoo!
9.) Dinner at Hou Hou Mei
Cade had found this restaurant online with raving reviews and made us a reservation for the evening. The food was fantastic and the atmosphere was so cozy. It was a perfect ending to a very full day.
May 13, 2024
Scotland Day 12 (Honeymoon Part 2: Day 4)
This entire day was dedicated to a bus tour to Isle of Skye. When planning this trip I knew I wanted to make it to the Isle of Skye, but without a car I wasn’t sure how we could make that happen. I found WOW tours online and booked “The Ultimate Isle of Skye Tour from Inverness” tour. This was great because all we had to do was show up and they handled everything else. They picked us up and dropped us off in Inverness which was very easy and convenient.
It was a very long day (over 12 hours) spent riding around on a bus. We got to see a lot but weren’t in any spot for more than an hour (usually less than 30 minutes). I’m glad we did the bus tour just because we got to see so much, but I hope we can return to Skye in the future with our own vehicle to take in the sites at our leisure. Murdoch, our driver and guide, was a wealth of knowledge and helped to pass the time on the bus by telling us stories of the Jacobite Risings and sharing Scottish fairytales with us.
1.) Drive North Towards the Isle of Skye
After an early morning pickup in Inverness, we were heading north towards the Isle of Skye. We stopped at several pull offs along the way for bathroom breaks and photo opps. We stopped once to visit a couple of Highland Cows. The best break was near Eilean Donan Castle. We were across the water from the iconic castle but it made for some great photos.
2.) Lunch in Portree
We had the option to purchase a boxed lunch from a local chef prior to arriving in Portree. Our bus made a quick detour to pick up our preordered meals, and then we were dropped off in Portree and told to meet back at the bus in an hour. We ate our delicious sandwiches and desserts on a bench overlooking the water before wandering to the rainbow houses nestled on the harbor. The hour flew by and before we knew it we were rushing back to catch the bus and on to our next destination.
3.) Overlook at Kilt Rock
We drove out of Portree to cliffs overlooking the water. Kilt Rock is an impressive cliff face with a gushing waterfall flowing into the sea. Our group hung out here for a little while enjoying in the view and taking photos before piling back in the bus and heading to the next stop.
4.) Visiting the Old Man of Storr
This was one spot in particular I wish we had more time! Our bus parked in a parking lot with a coffee truck overlooking this iconic rock feature and we had 20ish minutes to admire the view and get coffee before being whisked away. Apparently there are hiking trails all over this area that offer stunning views, we just didn’t have time to explore them. Just another reason to return to Scotland!
5.) Hiking to the Fairy Pools
The longest time we spent out of the bus was at the Fairy Pools. We had about an hour to explore to our heart’s content. At the trailhead there was a small restroom and parking lot. The trail travels up towards the mountains, but the real show stopper is the river flowing next to the trail. There were an abundance of pools and waterfalls, we hiked hard to try and see as much as we could in the short amount of time. We didn’t make it all the way to the end of the trail and had to turn around to head back to the bus. It started to rain as we meandered back so we were thankful for the shelter of the bus as we drove away and began the journey back to Inverness.
6.) Viewing Eilean Donan Castle After Hours
Our drive back to Inverness was highlighted by stopping at Eilean Donan Castle. We had viewed the castle across the bay earlier in the day, but on our drive back Murdoch stopped at the Castle and gave us a little time to walk around the grounds. The castle was closed for the day (it’s open for tours during regular business hours) but it was awesome to walk around the outside and get to take in the view.
7.) Brief Stop at Urquhart Castle
Our final stop for the day was at a lookout above Urquhart Castle. All we could see were the castle ruins, but perched on Loch Ness’s shore Murdoch told us stories of the castle’s robust history before loading us up to head back into Inverness.
Our night took a turn for the unexpected when we arrived back in Inverness. The previous day I realized I had mistaking booked our room for 2 nights instead of 3, meaning we didn’t have anywhere to stay the night following our bus tour. Thankfully Cade was able to book a last minute AirBnB so we thought all was well. It was late when we got back into Inverness and we needed wifi to view the check in instructions for our AirBnB. We went to McDonalds for snacks and wifi only to discover that our AirBnB had fallen through. Thankfully we were able to get a refund, but we didn’t have any where to sleep on our final night in Inverness.
We spent a very stressful hour in the McDonalds using wifi to try and book a last minute hotel room. Finally we gave up and decided to camp on the Ness Island Walk. The day prior we had seen several tents set up along the trail and since we had all our backpacking gear form the WHW we figured this was the best we could do last minute. Neither of us slept well because the whole night we were worried we were going to get told we were trespassing or worse, but our night went by without incident. We had to be up early to catch the train to Edinburgh, so we had packed up our campsite before the sun was up. Not a great way to end our time in Inverness, but it was memorable non the less!
Magic in the Mountains 
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